Leadership Journal

Now, what was that first book you mentioned? I read the other three, but I never heard of that one."

In a sermon, I mentioned four recent books in which university professors expressed some belief in the concept of intelligent design behind existing life. Now one of my friendly critics wanted information about the first. I knew he wasn't exaggerating about having read the other three. I was glad to be able to recite the author, title, and publication year. By the time you read this, he's read that book. And he's checked to see if my attribution was accurate and fair.

To provide arresting and relevant sermon illustrations demands that preachers read widely. When we use others' material in the pulpit, integrity demands that we give proper attribution. But how do we strike the proper balance between too much information and too little in a verbal footnote?

The trick is to give our hearers enough background so they can understand, accept, and recognize the importance of the quoted material, but not to bog down or distract from the truth we're trying to communicate.

From my failures and occasional successes, I offer a few suggestions:

1. Keep it short. If brevity is the soul of wit, it likewise is the heart of helpful attribution. If I give more than one or two sentences of reference, the audience gets lost before the quotation begins.

Consider these examples:

"Presbyterian preacher and theologian Timothy Keller wrote a three-part series called 'A Model for Preaching' which was published in the Journal of Biblical Counseling back in 1994. In the second part, Fall 1994, on page 42, he wrote, 'The goal of communication must be change, not performance or ritual.'"

Kind of numbs the brain, doesn't it? By the time the pertinent line is delivered, my hearers are trying to guess how many of these details matter. Is the publication date significant? Is the journal title a clue? Is the source's denomination and theological stance leading me to agree or disagree with him?

These details are essential in written footnotes, but only clutter oral presentations.

If I want to point out that preaching aims for life change, then I could say, "Preacher and theologian Timothy Keller put it like this: 'The goal of communication must be change, not performance or ritual.'"

A name and professional credential will often be enough. Should a hearer request fuller citation, I can provide it. The important thing is that the quote is heard honestly and full force, unobscured by irrelevant facts.

2. Anticipate doubters' questions. If the hearers are likely to question the material, I include the source where I found the information and the date it was published.

Details help in this case. A vague "many experts believe" or "current studies show" as preface to a startling idea will generate skepticism among hearers. They assume that if many experts actually believed it, I'd be able to name one. Without attribution, this sounds like just another opinion. Remember, we preachers don't like it when ...